Ancient Chinese secret...
The last time I was in New York City, my 20 year old was a newborn.
There were many wonderful highlights on that trip: standing atop the World Trade Center with a five month old and showing her the great big world around her; a romp through FAO Schwartz to look at toys; an afternoon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to open up the world of beauty to her new little eyes; a stop at the Park Plaza Hotel where my childhood heroine (and later that of all my girls) - Eloise - roamed the halls with her Nanny and ordered room service (one roast-beef bone, one raisin and seven spoons).
At the end of a particularly long day, I plopped onto the floor of my friend's studio apartment and wrapped a blanket around my sleeping baby. It was 1 a.m. and I was famished.
"Let's get Chinese," he suggested.
"At 1 in the morning??"
"This is New York," he said.
A short 10 minutes later, a well-dressed Oriental gentleman was standing at the fifth floor door with his bicycle and a bag of vegetarian treats, including my favorite: fried rice and crispy tofu.
I thought that was just one of those dishes that absolutely had to be delivered....that couldn't be made at home. But I asked for the recipe and promised that I was leaving town so I wouldn't be ordering any more from the restaurant anyhow.
Taking a cue from a 1970s laundry detergent commercial, he bowed quietly and whispered. "It an ancient Chinese secret" and laughed. Reluctantly, he told me how the dish was made and took his bike and rode away.
I've kept the secret until now. Here's how to make great crispy tofu with fried rice. (Now try to keep this a secret!)
Fried Rice with Crispy Marinated Tofu
1 egg2 teaspoons of sesame oil
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cups of leftover cooked rice
4 ounces of frozen peas (defrosted)
4 scallions, finely chopped
a handful of broccoli sprouts, optional
1 or 2 teaspoons of soy sauce
Pepper, to taste
1 block of tofu, drained and dried with a towel cut into thick slices
1/4 cup of soy sauce
- Marinate the tofu in the soy sauce while you make the fried rice.
- Beat the egg and the sesame oil in a small bowl and set it aside to let the flavors mingle a bit.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan. When the oil is so hot that it's almost smoking, add the rice and stir fry it for 3 to 4 minutes, until it's completely heated through.
- Add the peas and the scallions (and the broccoli sprouts, if you're using them). Stir fry for about three minutes, turning the rice constantly so it doesn't burn and get crispy.
- Season with the soy sauce and the pepper, then push everything to one side of the pan. Pour the beaten egg mixture onto the other side of the pan and let it cook quickly (literally 10 seconds, or less) until it is set.
- Using a chopstick or a spatula, stir the cooked egg to break it up and then toss around with the rice.
- Put the fried rice in a bowl and keep warm in the oven.
- Take the marinated tofu out of the soy sauce and put in a very hot pan that has been sprayed with cooking oil. (You can use the same pan you used for the rice.)
- Cook for about 3 minutes per side until it is crispy on the outside.
- Serve with the fried rice.
